Bears Hum In Harmony

Balance Keeps Offense On Perfect Pitch

Jim McMahon proved a prophet when he said the Bears wanted to score 28 to 31 points a game this year.

``That`s that schooling I got at BYU,`` said McMahon.

Brigham Young himself couldn`t have foretold the Bears` abilities better than McMahon made them unfold in Sunday`s 38-28 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Brigham`s descendant Steve Young, who could be a Tampa Bay quarterback in time for the Oct. 6 rematch, couldn`t have stopped McMahon either.

This was an ``I told you so`` effort by the Bears, who proved they could pass and still run, control the ball and still score, give up points and still win. At least against Tampa Bay.

Coach Mike Ditka doesn`t like to separate offense from defense from special teams in public, lest one group get the idea it is more important than another.

Likewise, he doesn`t like to separate passing from running, so long as each results in first downs and touchdowns.

But the Bears ran a textbook playbook on Sunday, passing 34 times and running 34 times and sending historians to their archives in search of a better comeback. The Bears announced they hadn`t recovered from a two-touchdown deficit since 1977, but further checking revealed they did it once in 1979 against the Rams and once in 1980 against the Lions.

The point is that points aren`t ordinarily taken for granted in Chicago. That had to make Ditka smile in private, at least.

The running of Walter Payton is what is taken for granted. Wonderful as it is, Sunday`s victory made the Bears` record 72-76 during his career. When Payton set the one-game rushing record of 275 yards in 1977, the Bears scored only 10 points and barely beat the Minnesota Vikings 10-7.

The new plan with McMahon borders on establishing the pass to set up the run, a totally foreign concept in these parts.

``I hadn`t realized I only handed off to Payton eight times in the first half,`` said Ditka. ``He mentioned something in the third quarter. He said,

`Have you forgotten who I am?` I said, `No.` ``

Payton got the ball only nine times in the second half, but his production increased from 5.8 yards a carry to 8.2, and he ended up with 120 yards.

``If we save him like that and not give him the ball 30 times a game, he is going to help us in the long run,`` said McMahon. ``He won`t get as banged up.``

Ditka said Payton played after taking an unhealthy hit in the ribs early in the game.

The Buccaneers blitzed a safety and a linebacker to stop the Bear runs. Ditka expects the New England Patriots to try similar tactics this week.

``It`s what the 49ers did to us in the playoff game,`` said Ditka. ``What it means is we`re man-to-man outside, and you better be able to throw.

``If everything goes right, that balance of run and pass is what I`d like to see happen, where they can`t really key in for the run. As a result, I`m not saying we passed to set up the run, but it certainly helped.``

McMahon said he and his receivers made ``sight adjustments`` on blitzes

``a lot more than usual.``

``You can`t say enough about Jim`s play,`` said Ditka. ``It looked like he had eyes in the back of his head. He threw to some receivers we don`t even talk about. I`ve never seen him throw to them in practice even.``

The 23 completions--in 34 attempts--were a career high for McMahon.

``I like to think I can get better. I had guys wide open and casually flicked the ball. When a guy is five yards away and I throw it 30 yards over his head, it`s kinda ridiculous,`` said McMahon.

-- One of McMahon`s incompletions hit Willie Gault in the hands on a post pattern. Gault was replaced in the third quarter by Ken Margerum after missing a hastily thrown pass on a blitz adjustment that Ditka called ``catchable.``

But Ditka said Gault was not benched.

``His routes were good, he blocked well, hustled. But the only thing you really see is the drop,`` said Ditka. ``Nobody feels worse about it than Willie. I meant to play Kenny in the second quarter. In the heat of the game, I didn`t think of it. Then I told him to take the next series, and I didn`t know he stayed in the rest of the game. He played good.``

Gault said he tried to think of the positive things. The Bears scored after the drop. ``But I have to get those. No excuse. I really relaxed too much. I said: `Oh, I got a TD. Great.` I learned a valuable lesson. I`ll make that catch 10 out of 10 more times,`` said Gault.

-- McMahon said he switched from his bulky flak jacket to a smaller version worn by back-up quarterback Steve Fuller.

``My thing is so big and binding on me that I couldn`t breathe in the pregame warm-up,`` said McMahon. ``Fuller`s is a lot smaller and still covers the injured (kidney) area.``

McMahon has one of his own on order.

McMahon also wants a new jersey. He tucks his floppy sleeves in so defensive linemen can`t grab them.

``If you notice, the jerseys are real big. They have to tailor those things before next week,`` said McMahon.

-- Ditka agreed with linebacker Mike Singletary`s opinion that officials are watching the Bears more closely for personal fouls because of their reputation as hard hitters.